1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to sound-producing toys having a deformable hollow body, and more particularly to a toy vehicle for pre-school children having a hollow body formed of resilient material which when pressed in and deformed produces a honking sound, the body resuming its normal state when the player operates an actuating element.
2. Status of Prior Art
Toy vehicles for pre-school children which have no motor and are therefore hand propelled are well known. Such toy vehicles have limited play possibilities, for there is little a child can do with this toy other than push it back and forth on a playing surface. Play activity sometimes takes a destructive tack, for the typical child not only enjoys operating a toy in its intended manner, but he also delights in wrecking the toy, particularly when he loses interest in its play possibilities.
In the case of a conventional hand-propelled toy made of rigid plastic material, metal or wood, the temptation to try to break the toy is encouraged by the fact that the normal play possibilities of the toy are quickly exhausted. And the nature of the materials from which the toys are made is such that the child may well succeed in ruining the toy by crashing it against a hard surface.
It is known to provide a toy vehicle whose body is partially formed of resilient plastic material. Thus the Kennedy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,386, discloses a motorized toy car whose body has a front hood section of resilient material which is deformable to simulate the effects of a car crash. The front section can be caused to resume its normal state, but a relatively elaborate mechanism is required for this purpose.
While the invention will be described in a toy vehicle embodiment, it is to be understood that it is applicable to other hollow, deformable forms, such as toy animals and figures.